The total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 will be visible along a narrow strip spanning from Oregon to South Carolina and including parts of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The United States is the only landmass where totality will be visible. In areas surrounding the path of totality, including all of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as parts of South America, Europe, and Africa, the Sun will be only partly covered.
If you want to be among the first people on US mainland to see the New Moon move in front of the Sun and totally block out the daylight, join the crowd at Yaquina Head on the morning of August 21. This rocky headland, just north of the city center of Newport, Oregon, is nearly bang in the middle of the path of totality and juts out into the Pacific Ocean just enough to clinch the award for the first inch of land to be touched by the Moon’s main shadow, the umbra. Here, the Moon will begin moving in front of the Sun at 9:04 am local time. The Sun will be completely obscured at 10:15 am and totality will last for 1 minute and 51 seconds.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Oregon. This quaint lighthouse standing on a headland jutting out into the Pacific Ocean in Newport, Oregon is the first location on the US mainland to see totality.
Having said that, it’s an extremely close call. According to our calculations, Cape Foulweather, a mere 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Yaquina Head, comes in a close second—with a lag of just 1 second. So since parking at Yaquina Head is limited and the crowd is expected to be sizeable, you might want to head a bit farther north. If you’re still not convinced, here is another perk: totality at Cape Foulweather will last a whole 8 seconds longer than at Yaquina Head